Friends of Cape Cod National Seashore put finishing touches on Old Harbor Station

Saturday

May 26, 2012 at 12:01 AMMay 26, 2012 at 5:51 AM

Behind every great public institution there is usually a group of active but pretty much unheralded volunteers who donate countless hours developing outreach programs, expanding public awareness of free community programs and activities, and raising money to support the goals of the parent organization. Some 500 members strong, the Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore is an excellent case in point. Established as a distinct organization and guided by a formal legal agreement to assist the Seashore in its efforts to preserve and protect its resources, the group is celebrating its silver anniversary this year.

Deborah Minsky

Behind every great public institution there is usually a group of active but pretty much unheralded volunteers who donate countless hours developing outreach programs, expanding public awareness of free community programs and activities, and raising money to support the goals of the parent organization. Some 500 members strong, the Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore is an excellent case in point. Established as a distinct organization and guided by a formal legal agreement to assist the Seashore in its efforts to preserve and protect its resources, the group is celebrating its silver anniversary this year.

Among many recent accomplishments, the Friends are particularly proud of the project to refurbish the interior of the historic Old Harbor Life Saving Station to its original 1900-era condition following the Seashore’s restoration of the building itself.

Richard Ryder, whose grandfather was first a surfman at Old Harbor in 1903 and later returned in 1932 as officer-in-charge, spearheaded this project. Combining his extensive knowledge of Cape Cod lifesaver lore and history with sheer Yankee resourcefulness and skill, he researched, scouted out, “dump-picked” and lovingly restored many of the authentic artifacts and replicas that now grace Old Harbor. Ryder’s precise attention to authentic detail speaks of a man consumed with determination to do it just right. He relishes the concept of a living history that can be tangible, accurate and easily accessible to the public.

In a recent FCCNS newsletter Ryder describes a recent triumph. “Back in late August 2011, it was clear to me that we should pursue finding and funding a kitchen sink, hand pump and drain board as per the 1898 specs for building Old Harbor Station. I searched the Internet for a hand pump of the era, but I was expecting to have to go to a local welder to have the ‘pressed steel, galvanized, 18” x 30” x 6” sink’ made for us. Shortly after receiving the pump, I happened to cruise through the metal pile at the Eastham Transfer Station, as I’ve been known to do with some regularity. There, right in front of me lay a pressed-steel sink of the absolute correct dimensions. Big time find! So I started to build the wooden structure needed to hold the pump and sink. The specs also called for a ‘hard wood drain board.’”

Fellow board member Dave Spang, a volunteer NPS life-saving station keeper and also a skilled carpenter, supplied just the right piece of maple, which Ryder cut to size, routed, trimmed, sand blasted and painted for timely installation. This kind of teamwork typifies the Friends’ involvements.

Ryder adds, “The total cost was less than $170. Talk about serendipity. The entire fund-raising campaign for Old Harbor has been like this. I feel the project was meant to be.”

The capstone, the finishing touch for refurbishing the Old Harbor Station, will be the installation of a surf boat wagon, of the type once used to transport a rescue dory to the water’s edge. Specially commissioned from the North Carolina Maritime Museum, a new wagon was built as an exact replica of an 1895 McLellan service boat wagon. Although its delivery was delayed due to transportation problems, the park hopes to have it safely installed in time for Memorial Day weekend.

Old Harbor is currently open to visitors 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. (Come June, check the CCNS website for possibly extended hours.) Old Harbor Station is a prime stopping point for history enthusiasts as well as families eager to give their kids a sense of Cape Cod in the “old days.”

As FCCNS president Richard Spokes wrote recently, “If you have not yet seen the transformation at Old Harbor, we encourage you to visit. Old Harbor [is] the only historical life-saving station of its type in the U.S. that is completely refurbished, bringing to life this remarkable era of American maritime history.”

With the installation of the dory wagon, the Old Harbor refurbishing project will be essentially finished, even though Ryder is still hoping to procure a bureau for the keeper’s quarters and a washstand for the spare room. Now, according to president Spokes, the Friends of CCNS are turning their attention to three new fundraising projects: restoring the exterior brick pathway, fencing, handrail, flagpole and plantings at Eastham’s Penniman House; installing Province Lands Bicycle Trail wayside exhibits; and helping to fund the Seashore’s “Making Waves Project,” a youth outreach program for minority students from Hyannis and Boston. Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore welcomes new members and volunteers to join.

In celebration of its 25 years of service to the park, the Friends are planning a festive fund-raising reception at the Salt Pond Visitor Center, on Aug. 22, 5:30-7:30 p.m., featuring special guest speaker Sebastian Junger, Truro resident and author of “The Perfect Storm.” Check the Friends website, www.fccns.org for further details on this event and a full calendar of activities and programs from May 25 through Oct. 6.